Comcast yesterday claimed that it will deposit some-more than $50 billion in infrastructure over the next 5 years since of the dissolution of net neutrality manners and the new taxation overhaul.

But the numbers show that Comcast’s investments soared while the net neutrality manners were in place and would hit the “new” miracle if its investments continued augmenting by a medium amount.

Comcast’s proclamation yesterday pronounced the following:

Based on the thoroughfare of taxation remodel and the FCC’s movement on broadband, Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast NBCUniversal, announced that the Company would endowment special $1,000 bonuses to some-more than one hundred thousand authorised frontline and non-executive employees. Roberts also announced that the Company expects to spend good in additional of $50 billion over the next 5 years investing in infrastructure to radically urge and extend the broadband plant and capacity, and the television, film and thesis park offerings.

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Big investment increases under net neutrality rules

How does $50 billion over 5 years review to what Comcast already spends on infrastructure? The company’s quarterly gain reports answer that question.

In Q3 2017, the many new quarter, Comcast’s collateral expenditures were $2.4 billion. Continuing to spend at that rate, even if Comcast doesn’t boost spending to comment for inflation, would pull Comcast to $9.6 billion a year or $48 billion over the next 5 years.

Spending patterns can change by quarter, however, so it may be some-more exegetic to demeanour at Comcast’s collateral investments over the past 12 months.

In the many new 4 buliding total (Q4 2016 by Q3 2017), Comcast spent $9.4 billion on collateral investments. (Q4 2016 was the high indicate at $2.6 billion.) Continuing to spend $9.4 billion annually but any inflation-related increases would outcome in $47 billion over the next 5 years, a few billion next the “new” target.

But formed on prior years, Comcast’s spending likely would boost regardless of either the net neutrality dissolution and taxation cut happened. In the 12 months finale Sep 30, 2014, Comcast’s collateral investments were $7.2 billion. Over the next 12 months, heading up to Sep 30, 2015, the spending rose to $8.1 billion.

The net neutrality manners took outcome in Jun 2015. Though Comcast and other ISPs claim in some open statements that the manners suppressed investment, Comcast’s annual collateral expenditures continued to increase, attack $9.2 billion in the 4 buliding finale Sep 30, 2016.

Thus, if Comcast continues augmenting collateral expenditures by the same rate as it did with net neutrality manners in place, the company would simply mangle the $50 billion figure that Roberts attributed to the net neutrality dissolution and taxation break.

Investment is tied to record upgrade cycles

Comcast’s new spending story shows that it increases collateral investments since of factors other than the participation or deficiency of net neutrality manners or taxation breaks. When Comcast’s collateral expenditures associated to wire increasing 7.9 percent in calendar year 2016, the company pronounced the change “primarily reflect[ed] increasing investment in line extensions, a aloft turn of investment in scalable infrastructure to boost network capacity, and continued spending on patron grounds apparatus associated to the deployment of the X1 height and wireless gateways.”

Cable run claims that investment was suppressed by net neutrality manners were energetically supposed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai when he led last week’s opinion to dissolution net neutrality rules. But when articulate to investors—to whom open companies are compulsory to yield accurate information about risk factors—Comcast and other ISPs have certified that the manners did no quantifiable harm.

“In Dec 2016, Comcast’s arch financial officer certified to investors that any concerns it had about reclassification were formed only on “the fear of what Title II [net neutrality rules] could have meant, some-more than what it actually meant,” a report by Free Press noted.

When ISPs ask for handouts

When ISPs are asking the supervision for a specific policy change—such as the dissolution of a law or a taxation break—they are discerning to explain that the preferred policy will lead to some-more investment.

ATT, for example, announced last month that it would deposit “an additional $1 billion” if Congress passes taxation reform. With the taxation remodel now upheld by Congress, ATT pronounced yesterday that it will pierce forward with that $1 billion increase.

But conjunction one of those ATT announcements pronounced what the accurate turn of investment would have been if the taxation check wasn’t passed.

And in 2010, ATT told the FCC that collateral expenditures are formed on record upgrade cycles rather than supervision policy. At the time, ATT was asking the FCC for a favor—the company wanted a stipulation that the wireless marketplace is competitive, a anticipating that can change how the FCC regulates wireless carriers.

To make that argument, ATT pronounced that the FCC shouldn’t appreciate year-to-year investment changes as justification that the marketplace isn’t competitive.

“There is no reason to design collateral expenditures to boost by the same volume year after year,” ATT pronounced at the time. “Capital expenditures tend to be ‘lumpy.’ Providers make poignant expenditures to upgrade and enhance their networks in one year (e.g., maybe since a new era of record has just been introduced), and then concentration the next year on signing up business and integrating those new comforts into their existent networks, and then make additional collateral expenditures later, and so on.”